


Driving Home For Christmas

by california_112



Category: Lester - All Media Types
Genre: Christmas, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-22
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:21:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,506
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28226799
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/california_112/pseuds/california_112
Summary: As we were navigating the thin staircase, the phone began ringing. Hurrying as much as I could whilst not spilling any tea, I forced the tray on Harry and picked up the phone, for once hoping that it wasn't a new case- not another thing to think about this close to Christmas.-or-The gang are were poised to have a wonderful Christmas together when cadet commitments pulled them apart. Will they reunite in time for the big day?ABSOLUTELY 0% SPOILERS FOR ANYTHINGThis work will be finished as soon as possible :')
Kudos: 1





	1. 22nd: See You When I See You

"I still don't understand why they decided to put it so close to Christmas."

I watched the kettle idly as it began to boil, steam curling from the spout in an ever-thickening stream, condensing quickly on the cold walls of the basement. Across the table from me, Harry was rocking in his chair, hands hidden in the pocket of his hoodie. As he stared at the ceiling, his breath misted in the cold air, giving some idea of the temperature in the coldest room of the house.

"I guess they couldn't fit it in any other time," he replied, "I'm sure we're not the only people that this is inconveniencing, but it does need doing."

We were referring to the police cadet training exercise which McGilligan had been sent on the previous Saturday. For some reason, it was taking place just outside Glasgow, which was just over an hour away by air- but it was more the event's proximity to Christmas which was the most inconvenient. The three of us, and Mrs Hammond too, had planned to spend the last few days before Christmas decorating the house with as many bits and bobs as we could find, in my protégé's usual style, but we would now have to crowd that into only a handful of days, as McGilligan was away, and we were all for waiting for him.

"But three days," I continued, pouring two mugs of some 'winter spice' tea that I had discovered in the cupboard, "it seems a bit much."

Harry returned all four chair legs to the floor with a bang and stood up to find the biscuits, seeing that I was nearly ready. "Well they weren't exactly going to hire an aircraft and fly all the way up there for one night, were they."

"It would have been more sociable." I frowned, filling a small tray with the mugs. "I didn't know they'd hired the aircraft."

"Yeah, because they wanted to fly out of Brighton City but there aren't any airlines there."

"Huh." I stirred in the milk thoughtfully, then continued in my annoyed rant. "The point still stands that they decided to go on a three-day exercise in the week before Christmas." I picked up the tray, and Harry turned off the lights as we headed upstairs.

"At least they should be back today," my friend consoled, "we've still got enough time to get ready."

As we were navigating the thin staircase, the phone began ringing. Hurrying as much as I could whilst not spilling any tea, I forced the tray on Harry and picked up the phone, for once hoping that it wasn't a new case- not another thing to think about this close to Christmas.

"Lester 003206, who's calling?"

"Can you hear me?" The voice on the line was tinny and distant, but still recognizable. "Sir?"

"McGilligan, hello!" Hearing the name, Harry rushed back to join me. "How are you? How did it go?"

"Oh, it was…alright. Lots of snow."

"Hey, that's great! We haven't had any down here yet."

Though I was happy just to hear from him, it was obvious that he sounded rather downcast, and I suddenly realised that this wasn't the main point of his call. With the phone on speaker, Harry had heard as well.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Well, I'm not quite sure how to say this but…" McGilligan took a deep breath, sounding like a static storm down the bad connection. "The snow I mentioned? Glasgow airport has been closed because of it. I won't be able to fly back to Brighton until after Christmas."

The two of us were dumbfounded. "There are still two days to go, surely you could make it back in that time?"

"The police are organizing a coach, but the roads have miles and miles of traffic." He sniffed, and there was a pause. "You three can do Christmas without me."

"I'm sure it won't come to that," Harry instantly reassured as both of us tried to picture the route from Glasgow to Brighton, working out how long it would take, "there are still days to go. You might miss some of Christmas eve, but-"

"Really, they're saying it's going to take longer than that. I'll be alright though."

There was a voice in the background calling to 'Hurry up!', and McGilligan sniffed again before a quick "See you when I see you." He hung up.

We both stared at the phone, trying to process the news, and I eventually replaced it. Harry and I stood silently in the hallway.

"He'll make it back in time." The statement sounded firm, but my voice lacked its usual conviction. "It's not as though Glasgow's _that_ far away."

"It's far enough, by road," Harry reminded, "an eight hour journey without any delays. And if the snow closed the airport…"

"UK airports close if there are three flakes of anything white." I scoffed. "He might be a little late, but he won't miss Christmas." I went to the living room, Harry following.

"I know it's not what we planned, but…we could put up the decorations without him," Harry ventured, "then whenever he comes everything'll be ready."

I sipped my cooling tea, not happy with the idea. However, after a few minutes of hard thought weighing up the options, I came to a decision. "Alright, we'll start without him- but let's wait until tomorrow. We're bound to have more news by then, and if it's he won't be too much longer then we can wait."

"Good plan." He agreed, picking up a biscuit.

Though, deep down, I knew it was unlikely he would make it in time, I still held out hope. Christmas just wouldn't be the same without the most lively member of our group.


	2. 23rd: Let's Start Small

From the moment we woke up the next morning, Harry and I had one ear on the telephone. I didn't even dare to turn on the radio at breakfast lest a call from McGilligan to be missed, and I spent the morning cleaning the office in complete silence- until just past ten o'clock, when the phone finally rang. I snatched up the receiver on my desk on the second ring, hearing Harry join the line from another phone downstairs, and we both spoke at the same time.

"Lester 0032-"

"Both of you?" McGilligan sounded surprised, but both his tone and the line seemed stronger. "That's…new."

"Well, we're anxious for news." I replied quickly. "Where are you?"

"Leeds, we arrived this morning. They let us out to get breakfast and I've just got time to call you before we set off again. I tell you, that coach seems to get smaller by the hour."

"So, when do you think you'll make it back by?"

McGilligan thought for a moment. "They're saying tomorrow morning, but that seems quite…optimistic."

"Why?" Harry asked.

"Well, we travelled at a snail's pace all night- there's so much snow, and it's still falling as I speak."

"When's do you think you'll get back?" I pressed.

"Early Christmas day, I should think. At least I'll make it for Christmas lunch."

"That's the spirit."

There was a pause for thought before McGilligan continued. "Well, guys, I'm running out of money and the coach leaves soon so…"

"Well see you later."

"But hopefully not too much later!" Harry chuckled. "Bye, kid."

As soon as the the call was finished, Harry and I hurried to meet up, bumping into each other on the third landing.

"So, shall we get decorating?" he asked.

"Yes, but let's start small." I said, leading the way to where the Christmas boxes were stored. "We'll leave the tree for last, he might arrive earlier after all."

"That's fine by me," Harry smiled, "let's get going!"

* * *

When Mrs Hammond came to find us at lunchtime, she was shocked by the amount we'd actually got done. Still buying time, as it were, we had started by cleaning each of the rooms we intended to decorate- not something that she'd ever seen us interested in doing before. As the house was now clean, though, she wasn’t complaining, even though it had been a bit of a rushed job.

As was related to their housekeeper over lunch, the first decorations to go up were to be the tinsel, first wrapped around each bannister then swagged in the windows. On investigation of the boxes, a string of outdoor lights had been found, which were to be threaded through the railings at the front, and some indoor ones were reserved for the tree. Finding quite a few boxes of mass-produced Christmas decorations, a selection were set aside for the tree before the rest were divided by room. There was also an old and quite dubious can of fake snow spray, designed to illustrate drifts in windows, but all agreed that this would probably not need to be used. Having finally reached far enough down the country, the town was covered now in a thin layer of white, and if the news was anything to go, by, they could expect more.

Seeing our enthusiasm, Mrs Hammond excused us from helping to clear up lunch, releasing us on her house with a surprising lack of reminders. Working as a seamless team, we began the operation, determined to make this Christmas better and brighter than all the others for when our friend finally joined us.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a couple of snippets :)


	3. 24th: Bright and Colourful

We had worked well into the night, finally collapsing into sleep at near on one in the morning. When I woke up, I was temporarily confused as to why everything was so bright and colourful, before remembering and admiring our efforts on the way down to the kitchen. Harry joined me for breakfast soon afterwards.

"Do you know, I didn't think we had that much tinsel?" he opened, before disguising a yawn with his hand. "It seems to have multiplied whilst in storage."

"Yes, I don't remember so many decorations at all." I agreed. "Though it may not have been necessary to put up all three boxes of outdoor lights."

"They fit, don't they?"

I peered upwards to the railings at street level. "If you count 'completely obscuring any ironwork' as fitting, then yes, they fit."

"They do clash, though." Mrs Hammond appeared, a shawl wrapped tightly around her shoulders. "Honestly, all the different colours, you could have at least coordinated them."

"Where's the fun in that?" Harry asked innocently, turning away to butter his toast.

This prompted our landlady to turn on my decorating skills. "And you, I see that you've put green and gold tinsel in the window outside my room."

"So I have," I replied, "I thought it looked-"

"Horrible!" She stared at me. "Green and gold do not go well together!"

"Yes they do!"

"Not outside my bedroom, they don't. You will move it, please, before I go up there again."

"Yes, ma'am." I said, only half joking, and filed it on my mental to-do list.

Harry joined me at the table, munching his toast. "No word from McGilligan?"

"Not yet." I replied. "No word from the cadets people either."

"Because they would definitely contact you about anything." Harry pointed out. "I'm the one listed as his close contact."

I groused. "Point taken."

We were finishing up breakfast and wondering what to do next when the phone rang, and Harry answered it this time. Listening to one side of the conversation seemed to take a long time, but in reality it was only a few minutes until Harry hung up and told me what was going on.

"He was calling from a payphone in Birmingham," he started, "the coach broke down, they had to walk to a service station. He got a lift from there to Birmingham, and now he's planning to take a bus back down here. Said he should arrive early Christmas Day."

"And you said?"

"You were listening to what I said." He pointed out, walking away.

"Not in context."

He sighed. "I said that we'd started decorating, and he reminded me of his storage unit in Brighton."

"Oh," I realised, "that's where the tree must be! I wondered why we hadn't come across it yet."

"The only issue is, how are we going to get there."

This stumped us. As I still didn't legally exist, even after all the shenanigans we'd gone through, there was no way I could hold a driver's licence, and Harry's hadn't come through yet. Mrs Hammond had one but no car, and I doubted she was willing to become our chauffer. There was only one option remaining, and determined to decorate, we took it.

As we staggered up the steps a couple of hours later, laden with boxes and packages, I jiggled around to known on the door with my elbow before leaning against a small patch of railings where the lights had slipped down, exhausted. Unable to find anywhere to copy me, Harry swayed slightly on the spot, his muscles almost giving out after all the time under strain. It seemed an age before our landlady answered the door, but when she did we were inside in seconds, dumping packages and shedding layers.

"Good bus journey, was it?" She said, half-smiling as she watched us flop into chairs.

"Brilliant." I replied sarcastically. "A laugh a minute."

"Well, we've got them now," Harry placated, "let's take a breather then finish putting them up."

We worked over lunch, much to Mrs Hammond's amusement ("I've never see you two work so hard!"), then got ready to go to church. None of us were remotely religious, but carols were always fun to sing, and we usually went with McGilligan. As darkness fell, we walked out onto the streets, the only sounds being the hissing of snowfall and the distant rumbling of car engines. Still sad that my protégé hadn't been able to join us, I almost stayed behind, but Harry bullied me into going with him, and I was too tired not to give in.

The small church was lit only by candles, making reading the carol lyrics a bit harder, but none of us really needed them. Zoning out slightly during the readings, I watched the flames flickering in the wind which seeped through the stonework and loosely-leaded glass, but was surprised when they suddenly bent over almost completely, and a couple went out. As it was accompanied by the sound of a door opening, I turned to see who the latecomer was with little interest- until I recognized the mop of blond hair, lanky figure, and tired expression which the candlelight revealed to me.

Harry and I got up as one, hurrying to intercept McGilligan as he walked unsteadily down the aisle, clearly exhausted from his lengthly journey. As we carefully steered him into one of the back row pews, the congregation stood around us to sing the final carol, and he lapsed into sleep, worry lines disappearing as a smile formed on his face. Ours mirrored his as we leaned in to keep him upright. He'd made it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just one more to go...

**Author's Note:**

> he really is just a puppy at heart
> 
> Not super happy with the opening, but here it is...more to come tomorrow!


End file.
